Monday, May 24, 2010

A little less than a year ago my favorite local bike shop closed it's doors. It was a sad occasion for all involved. I purchased two of my current bikes from the shop, the road bike you see in these photos and my Kona. One of the things I was most bummed about with the shop closing was loosing a trusted mechanic. They were the only local Campy Pro shop and the only place that really sold high end road bikes. After a period of denial I decided I had to find someone ells to work on my bikes. I tried going to a couple other places but nothing ever really felt right, the shops around here sell mostly beach cruisers and low end mountian and road bikes. They probably don't even have a campy lock ring tool, never mind the $200 chain breakers.Then one day I stumbled up Costal Cycles. My wife and I were heading out to the beach not even thinking about bike shops. Then while we were stopped at an intersection I saw someone ridding a bike around in a parking lot in circles. While this isn't really that unusual, from my experience at bike shops I immediately thought, "That looks allot like a bike mechanic, I wonder if there is a shop over there?" We pulled into the parking lot and sure enough there it was, Costal Cycles. The shop is located in a strip mall type place, sandwiched between a dance studio and a Dunkin' Donuts. Walking in I didn't really know what to expect.As I walked in the door, I was shocked to see John the lead mechanic from the old shop. Apparently after the old shop closed the owner sold everything he couldn't get rid of, tools, works stands, and old inventory to John and Costal Cycles was born. At this point he's running it as a mostly service based shop, with all the necessary accessories to keep you ridding. There are also a couple consignment bikes but no big name bike company contracts. It's a smart move to keep the overhead low. The shop is located in Tiverton RI, if your passing through the area you should check it out and say what's up to John and his dog. If you live close you should drop off your bike for a tune up. Check them out on the web at Coastal Cycles.net

2 comments:

Nice Post. Same thing happened to me a few years back. I live in a small town (pop 12,500). For years we had a local Schwinn shop. I grew up in that place. Bought my Yeti mtb frame there in the 90's when Schwinn bought them. My first recumbent too. Used to stop in after work and BS with Jeff the proprietor. We got to be good friends and riding partners. It was a very sad day when he had to close up- just could not financially keep going in such a small market. Only a handful of us in town that even knows what "Campy" means. Jeff was happy to give advice or loan out a tool here and there. That's "bike culture" as I know it.

There is a shop in the next town over about 15 miles but they are a "Great Trek Bicycle Manufacturing Company Dealer" I'll have them order in somthing occasionally out of the big book, but it's just not the same.